The Secret of Contentment – Part One

Hebrews 13:5,6
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, December 14, 1997
Copyright © 1997, P. G. Mathew

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
Hebrews 13:5,6

In Hebrews 12:28 we are exhorted to worship and serve God acceptably. A life of contentment is a life of worshiping and serving God acceptably. In Hebrews 13:5,6 we learn the secret of living a life of complete contentment and satisfaction.

What Is Christian Contentment?

There are some politicians who do not want anyone to be content or self-sufficient. Such politicians want to get our votes by making us dependent on them, meaning on the government. To do so they provide free or low-cost housing, education, transportation, medical care, basketball, birth control devices, abortion, and so on. They are always thinking of new ways to make people depend on them. In fact, I recently heard that our president has plans to provide us with child care. Such politicians do not want people to be self-sufficient and independent of government help. No, they want government to function like a nanny so that the citizenry will be continually dependent on it. But God wants his people to be self-sufficient.

The Greek word for contentment is autarkeia. Auto means self and arkeia means sufficiency, so autarkeia means self-sufficiency. Now, there is a difference between the self-sufficiency of the world and the contentment the Bible is speaking about. Buddhism teaches us that self-sufficiency is developed by suppressing all human desires. Stoicism of ancient times taught that people possessed an intrinsic ability to resist all external pressures and thus experience autarkeia, or self-sufficiency. Such Stoic self-sufficiency was really a self-created contentment.

Christian contentment is not self-created nor is it self-sufficiency. It is the sufficiency of the Lord which is appropriated by God’s people.

Christians Avoid Covetousness

In this study I would like to make three points from this text. First, a Christian avoids covetousness. “Keep your lives free from the love of money,” and in the Greek we read, Aphilarguros ho tropos.  Aphilarguros means not loving money.

A Christian should be characterized by contentment. Don’t be a money-grabber, in other words. The New English Bible translates this verse in this way: “Don’t live for money.” Our lives, our attitudes, our actions, and our desires must be free of covetousness, greed and the love of money.

In the Old Testament the tenth commandment forbids all coveting. And in Colossians 3:5 the apostle Paul gives us the insight that covetousness is really idolatry. A covetous man is one who has no interest in God. In fact, such a person hates God. He is an earthly man, a worldly man, an earth-dweller.

C. H. Spurgeon said that most Christian people are oblivious to this sin of covetousness. He wrote that in his pastoral life he heard many people confessing almost every type of sin except the sin of covetousness. But Paul tells us that philarguria, the love of money, is the root from which all evil springs up.

In the gospel accounts we read how the Pharisees were lovers of money. In 2 Timothy Paul prophesied that in the last days people would become lovers of themselves and lovers of money, and Paul advised Timothy, therefore, to flee from the sin of love of money (1 Tim. 6:11). In his list of qualifications for a minister as found in 1 Timothy 3, Paul required that a minister should be free from the love of money and he used this same word, aphilarguros.

The Deceitfulness of Riches

Why do people seek after money so earnestly? Wealth promises to make us happy and satisfied. So people work hard to obtain it by hook or by crook, by capitalism or socialism. Yet when they have obtained as much as they can, they are not happy. In fact, many people become more miserable than they were originally. Why do you think that happens? Their money deceived them. The Bible mentions this, warning us against the deceitfulness of riches.

Through television many of us were able to observe the wedding, the divorce and the death of England’s Princess Diana, who died as a young person. She had everything: beauty, fame, power, connections, royalty and wealth; yet she was one of the most unhappy human beings. It is all vanity, as the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us.

Rich and poor alike are deceived by this idea that more money will bring greater happiness. They are always looking for one more dollar, or one hundred more dollars, one thousand more dollars, one million more dollars, one billion more dollars, and so on. They think more is better.

Have you ever been asked, “How much are you worth? How big is your church? How big is your house?” Again and again we see this idea that bigger is better and smaller is worse.

We All Covet

We notice covetousness, or discontentment, even in angels who were created upright. In Isaiah 14:13-15 God spoke to the angels, “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.” You see, even the angels themselves were miserable and unhappy with the lot God gave them, and God dealt with them.

Not only that, Adam and Eve experienced this unhappiness also. Adam and Eve were created upright and their lot in paradise was very good. Despite all that God had done, they were unhappy, which is a mystery to us. So in Genesis 3:6-7 we read, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”

Can you imagine covetousness in paradise? But Adam and Eve were miserable and unhappy with the lot God had given them. They wanted to reach for something else, hoping that it would make them happier. They saw, they desired, they took, and they ate, only to find that they were naked. They became fearful and guilty and ran away from God.

In Joshua 7 we read about a covetous man named Achan. God was leading his people into the promised land, and wondrous things were happening in their midst. And yet despite the amazing presence of God with his people and despite seeing the many miracles God had performed, Achan was unhappy and covetous.

How did Achan’s covetousness manifest? After the destruction of Jericho he took some plunder which had been devoted to the Lord. And in Joshua 7:20-21 Achan himself explained his actions: “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent with the silver underneath.”

God had guided his people and provided for their every need. But in the midst of God’s supernatural care there was a man who was unhappy. He thought that if only he could have a little gold, a little silver or a designer garment, he would be happy. Let me warn you, there is a deceitfulness to riches. Achan and all that he owned, including his sons and his daughters, were stoned to death for his sin of covetousness.

In 1 Kings 21 we read about a king named Ahab. King Ahab had all he could need–lands, vineyards, buildings, gold, and silver. He had great possessions and power, and yet he was unhappy. Ahab wanted to get a plot of land that belonged to a man named Naboth, and he was miserable until he obtained it, even though to obtain it meant killing Naboth.

Judas Iscariot enjoyed the wonderful privilege of walking with Jesus Christ–living with him, eating with him, and seeing him perform wonderful miracles. I am sure that Judas himself even preached the gospel and performed miracles along with other apostles. But Judas was unhappy with his lot, and so he sold Jesus Christ for thirty pieces of silver. I am sure he thought a little more money would make him happier, but apparently it didn’t. Judas returned the money and hanged himself.

Do you remember Demas? He was a friend of St. Paul’s and had preached the gospel with him. But after a while covetousness entered Demas. In 2 Timothy 4:10 we are told that Demas abandoned St. Paul and went to Thessalonica to do business and make some money. I am sure he thought money would make him happier than following Jesus Christ had done.

The truth is, a covetous man will never be satisfied. He is merely following the mirage of contentment through covetousness. John Calvin correctly said, “It certainly rarely happens that anything will satisfy a greedy man, but rather that those who are dissatisfied with moderation, with their lot in life, even though they enjoy the greatest riches, are always looking for more.” Jesus said, “All those who drink from this well will thirst again.” In other words, satisfaction from the world is not guaranteed at all. And consider what Spurgeon said: “You cannot make a horse leech to see the impropriety of desiring to suck. It keeps on sucking.”

The Problems of Wealth

So the New English Bible tells us, “Don’t live for money.” Why? First, money deceives. Jesus Christ told us in the parable of the soils as found in Matthew 13. In verse 22 he gave this interpretation of the third soil: “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.” Wealth can cause us to be cut off from God.

Wealth can also cause us to become arrogant. In 1 Timothy 6:17 we read, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant.” Let me assure you, if you are not godly and your wealth begins to increase, you will become arrogant. There is an arrogance about a rich man.

Now, a person does not have to have much to consider himself rich. If you give a man one hundred dollars, he can become arrogant. So that is another danger of wealth. A man who is not godly will become arrogant just because he has some money.

Another problem of money is its uncertainty. First Timothy 6:17 tells us of the uncertainty of wealth: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain.” And in Proverbs 23:5 we read that wealth develops wings like a bird: “Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.” You see that bird, but when you look again, the bird is gone. It is a burden to manage something as uncertain as money.

In 1 Timothy 6:10 Paul warns about something else money does to people. “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith.” Wealth can make a person an apostate.

Paul continues: “They have wandered from faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” What do you think that means? Paul is referring to the idea of a wild animal leaping at some bait which is hung over a pit. The animal leaps, falls in and is impaled on a sharp stake that was placed in the bottom of the pit. This is what happens to an individual who wants to be rich. (PGM) He destroys himself, becoming arrogant and an apostate. And in the final analysis, his wealth will deceive him. He is seeking after money so that he can be happy, but happiness will elude him. His wealth will only give him anxiety, not contentment or security.

The Good Life Does Not Depend on Money

So in Luke 12:15 Jesus said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in abundance of possessions.” The definition of a truly good life does not mean having maximum money. In Mark 8:36 Jesus said, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” Some people are overjoyed when they receive one hundred dollars. Here Jesus is saying that you could gain the whole world, with all its power and money, but if you lose your soul, you have lost everything.

What, then, is a good life? It is a life that is vitally connected to God. A good life is a life of rest in God. By nature our hearts are restless, but we can never find rest with money, sex, pleasures, and things. Our hearts are restless until they find rest in God.

A good life means to have God as our possession. The psalmist therefore says, “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance” (Ps. 16:6). That is not just speaking about real estate. It is speaking about our inheritance in our God.

Christians Enjoy Contentment

So in Hebrews 13:5 we read, “Keep your lives free from money” and as we just discussed, a Christian avoids covetousness. What is the second point of the writer to the Hebrews? “Be content with what you have.” A Christian enjoys contentment, in other words.

In Luke 3:14 we read of some soldiers who came to be baptized by John the Baptist. They had repented and been baptized by John. Now they were asking, “What should we do?” You see, once someone repents, he or she should bring forth fruits of repentance by living a certain type of life. So John instructed these soldiers, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely,” to get more money, in other words. And then he told these soldiers, “Be content with your pay.”

We must be content with what we have! Let me tell you, you may have only very little–say, five loaves and a few small fish–but that is all right. Your little with God equals satisfaction. You may have only water, but your water with the Lord Jesus Christ becomes great, satisfying wine. The widow of Zarephath had very little, but her very little with God gave satisfaction for many, many days.

Only a Christian is truly self-sufficient, and the secret of that sufficiency is that it is God-sufficiency. Jesus offered this God-sufficiency to the Samaritan woman, telling her, “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” That is autarkeia. That is contentment. That is God-sufficiency.

Dr. J. Marsh writes that a Christian is to experience freedom from reliance on others, whether other persons or things. He accepts conditions as they are “as the wise and loving providence of a God who knows what is good for us, who so loves us as always to seek our good and whose power is adequate to his love” (J. Marsh in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 1, [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1962] 677. A Christian’s contentment is independent of all external circumstances and conditions because he is vitally dependent on God alone.

This sufficiency is due to a Christian’s vital union with Jesus Christ. Remember how Jesus said in John 15, “I am the vine; you are the branches”? What else did he say: “Without money you can do nothing”? No, that is a misunderstanding. What did Jesus really say? “Without me you can do nothing.” We can never be self-sufficient outside of Christ.

The Example of Paul

St. Paul understood the union between himself and Christ, and he practiced this self-sufficiency and contentment. In Philippians 4:10-13 we read, “I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

Now, Paul was in prison when he wrote this. How could he say he was not in need? Paul could do so because he enjoyed this condition called autarkeia, meaning contentment and self-sufficiency. But we must realize that this was not a gift he just received suddenly. It was a lesson he had to learn throughout his life.

Paul did not always enjoy this condition of self-sufficiency. He had to learn through the experiences of his life. But finally he did learn it and he learned it well. In fact, we are told in this particular passage he was instructed in the secret of Christian self-sufficiency by the Lord Jesus Christ himself. So in verse 12 Paul writes, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

Our Lord is a good teacher who teaches us this great skill of being content. May we be good students like St. Paul, so that we can also say, “I have been instructed, I have learned and I know. I now have the skill and experience to be content in every and all circumstances: to be abased, to abound, to hunger and to be stuffed.”

How did Paul learn this secret of contentment? We find part of the answer in 2 Corinthians 12. We read that God gave Paul great revelation, although God also understood that such knowledge could cause Paul to become arrogant. So God blessed Paul with a thorn in his flesh–a messenger of Satan–to torment him. I am sure Paul fasted and prayed about this situation and he himself tells us he prayed three times.

But the Lord used this situation to teach Paul something. In verse 9 we read, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'” Paul had stated his case to God, saying, “You know, this situation is tremendously painful and I want to get out of it. Please take it away from me.” That was Paul’s prayer, but God said no, and in the Greek we read, “Sufficient to you is my grace, for my power is made perfect in weakness,” meaning our weakness, not God’s.

Paul learned that God’s grace was sufficient for him. And what is grace? It is the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. The secret of being able to be abased and to abound–in other words, to being content in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in–is grace, meaning the power of God.

So Paul concludes verse 9, “Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,” meaning all sorts of weaknesses, “so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” Paul gloried in his weaknesses so that the power of Christ could rest on him, dwell on him, tabernacle on him. The word he used there is interesting. It is the same word used when the shekinah glory came down and rested upon the tabernacle. And it is also the same word used in John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

The Sufficiency of God’s Grace

Here, then, is the secret of a Christian’s contentment. In the midst of our problems, our difficult situations and conditions, what should we do? We should go to God and he will give us grace. And what is grace? The power of Christ. This grace, this power, will come and rest upon us, and as we experience it, we will become content, happy and satisfied.

The glory of God, the power of God, the grace of God in all its abundance will come down and rest upon us. We may be in bed, we may be in pain and suffering, we may be in prison, but we can be content and happy in God. In Acts 16 we read how Paul was in prison in Philippi, suffering great pain. But the power of God came upon him, and at midnight he rose and began to sing, praise, and worship God. How do you think he did this? The secret is this tabernacling of God’s power upon us in our weaknesses. And so in Philippians 4:12 Paul wrote, “I know what it is to be abased,” meaning what it is to suffer hunger, pain, sorrow and so on, “and what it is to abound. I know how to be content and self-sufficient in every and all situations and circumstances and conditions.”

Brothers and sisters, don’t come and tell me how terrible your condition is. Don’t say, “My condition is so bad I had to sin.” Have you never discovered that you could go to God with your condition and receive grace from God? God’s grace is not nothing; it is the power of Christ! Grace is that which makes us able to stand under all pressures. Grace is that which makes us able to say, “When I am weak, then I am strong. At the moment of my greatest weakness, I am strong because of this vital connection with my God.” That is the secret of it.

In 2 Corinthians 9:8 we read, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” Four times the apostle uses the word “all.” Isn’t that wonderful? We are recreated to do good works (Eph. 2:10), but we cannot do good works without grace. But here is a promise: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in all good work.”

Therefore, don’t come and say, “My condition is so terrible. Pastor, you just don’t understand it. You have no idea.” That may be true. I don’t understand everything that is happening to you. Your spouse doesn’t understand everything that is happening to you. But let me tell you, there is one who understands it–God Almighty. And you can go to this God and pray to him and he will say to you, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

It is, therefore, due to a Christian’s vital union with Christ that he is able to be content, to be self-sufficient. From Christ he receives continually all he needs. As St. Paul said, then, whenever I am weak, I am able, due to God’s power, which is God’s grace, that is coming to me.

God Is With Us

In Hebrews 13:5 we read, “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'” In the thirteenth verse of Philippians 4 Paul says, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength,” and in the Greek it is, “All things I am able–meaning able to do, able to endure, able to bear under, able to suffer–in the one who continually enforces me.”

Do you now see the secret of Christian contentment? It is in the One who enforces me. So you could translate this verse, “I can do all things through Him who enforces me.” A Christian cannot do anything–he cannot be content, he cannot be self-sufficient–without this secret, that God’s grace is sufficient and his power is made perfect in our weakness. God is with us and understands our situation. He alone can enforce us and make us strong, and he does so, not once in a while, but continually.

In 1 Timothy 1:12 we again find the Greek word for enforce: “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has given me strength”– enforced me–“that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.” And look at 2 Timothy 4:16-17. The apostle Paul knew he was about to suffer martyrdom. In verse 16 he wrote, “At my first defense”–meaning when he stood before Caesar–“no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me.”

You see, that is our problem. As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones asks, what will we do when everything is stripped from us? What will we do when even our own spouse may tell us to curse God and die? As people living in modern society we are so dependent on all the technology and conveniences that we get upset even over a one-degree change in the thermostat setting. What will happen when everything is stripped from us? What will happen when we finally face death?

Paul was in that situation and he wrote, “At my first defense no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.”

That is the secret of contentment: The Lord stands at our side. When that is true, then we will be self-sufficient through God-sufficiency. God himself will enforce us in every way–psychologically, mentally, and physically. Jesus gives us reinforcement.

Do You Have Christian Contentment?

Do you now understand the secret? Avoid covetousness, be content with what you have, and know that God stands with you. Let me ask you: What do you have? What do you need? In 1 Timothy 6:8 Paul says, “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”

In the Sermon on the Mount as recorded in Matthew 6 Jesus Christ said our heavenly Father will give us food and clothing. He understands that we have bodies which need food and covering. We are told about a heavenly Father who feeds the birds and clothes the lilies of the field in such marvelous ways. And so there is the guarantee that our heavenly Father knows what we need: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be given you as well.”

So let me ask you: What do you have? I will guarantee that you will have food and clothing. But what else do you have? The Lord. If you are a Christian, you have the Lord.

Now, if you are not a Christian, you are of all people most miserable. You are chasing the mirage of contentment through covetousness. But you will discover that it deceives you in the end. You become more miserable when you will have acquired all that money. If you are not a Christian, you cannot enjoy this contentment, this happiness, this self-sufficiency unless you come to Him who calls you: “Come unto me, all those who are weary, miserable, wretched, burdened slaves of sin. Come unto me and I will give you rest.”

But if you are a Christian, you are told to be content with what you have. Why? It is what God gave you. God guarantees that he will give his people food and clothing. Now, he gives generously to all the people of the world, but God has a special interest in his people. So not only will you have food and clothing, but you will also have an interest in him. So with confidence you can say, “My lot is fallen in beautiful places. I have an interest in God and God is with me. He stands with me, he is for me, he is in me, he is before me, he is around me and he enforces me.” No wonder the apostle Paul could say, “We rejoice in tribulations also”!

Therefore, may God help us to learn well the secret of contentment. May he teach us through experience so that we may come to a place where we can say with St. Paul, “I have been instructed and I have learned how to be content. I know not only how to be abased but also how to abound.” May we be content in Jesus Christ our Lord, both now and forevermore. Amen.